A three-year-old murder mystery may finally be solved owing to a DNA sample taken from a Walden man arrested on unrelated charges.
Cosimo DiBrizzi, who opened his first pizzeria in the former Orange County mall in Middletown after immigrating from Italy during the 1960s and went on to build the popular brick-oven pizza restaurants that bear his name, was shot by an intruder in his Balmville home in May 2004. His son, Nicholas, was also shot trying to protect his father during the fusillade.
Nicholas survived the shooting, but his father succumbed to his wounds three months later at Westchester Medical Center.
Despite a $100,000 reward offered by the family, the crime remained unsolved ”“ until now, according to police.
The Dec. 5 arrest of Dennis Sweeney, a 58-year-old unemployed electrician living in Walden may bring a measure of closure to the family of the popular restaurant owner.
Sweeney, arrested for an alleged string of car break-ins during 2005, had to submit a DNA sample to the state”™s database. According to town of Newburgh Police Chief Charles Kehoe, that DNA sample matched DNA left at the crime scene.
Sweeney pleaded not guilty. He”™s been indicted by an Orange County grand jury and has since been remanded to the county”™s jail without bail.
In a written statement, the DiBrizzi family thanked the town of Newburgh Police Department, along with the New York State Police, the FBI and all other agencies that worked in unity for justice to be served. “Thanks also to the community of Newburgh for supporting our family and keeping our father”™s memory alive … It is gratifying to know that someone is finally going to be held accountable for our father”™s murder. We hope we will now have closure and answers to why such an amazing man was taken from us. God, along with our family and friends, has given us the strength to get through this difficult time.”
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